Walker Hayes‘ family is mourning a big loss. The father of six reveals on social media that their longtime family pet passed away, while they were traveling for the holidays.
“Lost a great dog today. Noly (short for Magnolia) left us this morning,” Hayes writes. “13 years old. She was the best. Hopefully she’s wherever Hazel went. I do really wonder what the deal is with dogs. Where they go etc. God made a very special animal. What a companion to people. Their loyalty and their forgiveness is inspiring.”
Hayes goes on to share some of Noly’s less-than-desirable, but humorous, traits.
“Noly’s breath was the worst…almost as bad as her farts,” Hayes says. “Hopefully soon we will be able to see the spaces where she used to be in our house and our lives and smile…I imagine getting back home will be sad. We were incredibly grateful that she died while we were with Laney’s parents and family around to hug us. Burying her was a family effort. She has the most beautiful spot by Pop’s Lake. Noly, thank you for loving the many versions of us for 13 years. You did good, so good…you can rest now. Tell Hazel we love and [miss] her whenever you get to wherever dogs go.”
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Hayes became sober in 2015, although he admits that after the viral success of ““Fancy Like,” staying away from drinking was a challenge.
“It was the greatest thing that ever happened in my career, but it was one of the biggest storms in my life too, because I didn’t know how to process it.,” Hayes admits to Rolling Stone, adding that it came after he experienced the devastating loss of his youngest daughter, Oakleigh, shortly after she was born in 2018.
“I have a daughter we lost three years prior, who was stillborn,” Hayes says. “And my dad died six weeks before we put ‘Fancy Like’ out. And then ‘Fancy Like’ was just this large stone that splashed into the lake of our life, and the ripple effect, honestly, was like nothing short of tragic.”
When “Fancy Like” became the hit heard around the world, the Alabama native struggled with his newfound fame, and his rapid rise to superstardom, after years of setback after setback.
“I’m not gonna lie, but there were many nights where I called my wife and I said, ‘Look, there’s a bar down at the hotel, there’s nobody there, and nobody would know,’” Hayes recalls. “There were many nights where I counted on my wife and friends to talk me through and say, ‘You will not regret it if you don’t have that drink. You will not regret it if you wake up tomorrow and don’t have that secret to keep.’”
Hayes not only is happy to talk about his sobriety, but he also created his own Fancy Like non-alcoholic beer, for those who want the taste of beer without the alcohol.
“It’s not a trigger for me to drink a non-alcoholic beer,” Hayes says. “I don’t drink one and go, ‘Oh, this makes me really want to drink a real beer. I just like the taste of beer. And I like the activities that beer goes with, like baseball, golf, boating, bonfires, friends, family.”
Find all of Hayes’ music and upcoming shows at WalkerHayes.com.